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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 20, 1944
Page
1
The weather forecast shows a warm afternoon with partly cloudy skies and frost in the interior, followed by cloudy and colder conditions northward. Local reports note a high of 45 and a low of 25 degrees. Community items include Christmas programs at Austinville Baptist and Austinville Church of God, with 7:30 p.m. start times and tree lightings.
Britain debates armed involvement in Greece as Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden clash over intervention. In Athens Lt Gen Scobie vows to press the fight against ELAS and warns civilians of attacks after 9 am. Escaped ex-prime minister Rallis at large as Rizo Pastis reports possible captures.
Prime Minister Churchill told the house of commons that the three great powers are in entire agreement on general aims but may differ on details. He urged close cooperation with the United States and Russia as Britain grapples with Greece and wartime challenges.
Warden Steve Hixon of Atmore state prison reported six Black convicts fled from a farm work gang near Atmore yesterday. One was recaptured this morning in Baldwin county. Details on others were not released.
The seventy mile frontline holds the line as the German counteroffensive tests Allied flanks. Unofficial reports suggest the First Army may be maintaining its position, averting a complete breakthrough. The Aachen sector remains the key, with Duren and the Cologne plain shaping the threat to Hodges’ forces and the Rhine war effort.
Washington December 20 Justice Department announced the indictment of Carl Emil Ludwig Krepper a former Newark minister accused of conspiring to aid German spies to injure and obstruct U S national defense. Indictments dated December 15 but impounded by court order. The case stems from a two year FBI investigation linked to a 1942 saboteur network.
The Tumble Inn choir has secured the Midnight Ramblers to entertain hospitalized service men at Courtland air base this evening. Louis Smith leads the band and served seven months in the Marines. other members await eligible ages. The group meets at the Tumble Inn and departs for Courtland at 6:30 p.m.
Mrs J A Call 59 died at home in Falkville after a long illness. Her body will be taken to the home of Mrs John Wiggins. Funeral services are set for 11:00 at Willoughby Presbyterian Church with Revs W B Strong and C L Cobb officiating. Interment will follow in the city cemetery. She is survived by her husband and two daughters.
President Roosevelt sent a grateful confident Christmas message to American fighting men worldwide. State Department reorganization plans surfaced as Stettinius and five new aides took oaths, with debates on liberal policy and Atlantic Charter commitments shaping reaction.
Will L. Clayton, a Texas cotton merchant, is identified as a potential assistant Secretary of State guiding postwar farm policy. Business and farm leaders urge Congress to amend the excess profits tax and the corporate income tax law amid debate on economic relations and farm needs.
Allied forces push through Leyte as American infantry seize the enemy HQ and airfield. US casualties and Japanese losses mount with 1,484 Japanese dead reported on Leyte fronts and multiple air and sea targets sunk or damaged across the Pacific.
Three Saipan based Superfortresses bombed Tokyo before dawn. Lt Wilfred Lind led the first raid at 2 06 AM reporting ten blasts and fires over a large square. Capt Harold Schramm and Sterett Abar also conducted Tokyo strikes amid light anti aircraft and distant night fighters.
Atlanta reports Maj. Gen. Frederick C. Uhl unveils a system to notify next of kin directly from the field. Letters from commanding officers and chaplains will accompany casualty telegrams, with hospital updates sent every fifteen days for serious wounds and ongoing progress reports.
Graveside services for Alonzo Davis aged 73 were held at Decatur cemetery after his death at home on December weekend. His wife Ellen Davis 69 followed the next day with services at Bellview Church of Christ. Bearers included Elmer Woodall Ben Hill H C Jills and others with survivors listed as sisters Mrs C N McNeese Mrs Margaret Griswold and Mrs Betty Wagner Mrs Mary Bates.
Word arrived today of the sudden heart attack death of Dr. W N Sholl at his home in Haskell Texas. He served the First Presbyterian Church as pastor from September 1 1911 to September 30 1920 and was a chaplain during World War I. Funeral arrangements were not announced.
Soviet columns pressed toward Kassa in eastern Czechoslovakia and northern Hungary as heavy attacks breached fortifications. Senya fell with 400 Germans killed and 2,000 captured. border crossings and routes through Slovakia and the mountains were repeatedly harassed.
Baton Rouge students rallied for the 18 year old Gloria Jeanne Heller who wrote and distributed a leaflet on kissing and sex asking reinstatement. Gov James H Davis was urged to act as media attention grew and LSU president W B Hatcher considered reinstatement.
Mr and Mrs A J Henderson of Decatur two have received word from Melvin Sinen and two Curtis a ten and Bap Henderson that their son Private Henderson was killed in action during service.
U S troops recaptured Monschau in Germany and halted the German counteroffensive that pierced deep into Belgium. Battles raged at Stavelot St Vith and Malmedy as the front remained unstable and American armor pressed to blunt the push.
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